The present invention relates generally to position sensors and more particularly to a position sensor for use in determining the manually selected operating mode of an automatic transmission in a motor vehicle.
Several types of transmission position sensors are known which use either a digital or analog scheme for determining position. For example, the manual valve position sensing system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,083 generates binary codes in response to the position of the manual gear select lever in an automatic transmission. In contrast, the selector position detector shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,594 produces a level signal variable of the level depending upon the selector level position. Yet another scheme, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,015, employs magnetic sensors to generate coded electrical signals for controlling gear selection in a motor vehicle.